This is a zine dedicated to death/thrash, technical and traditional death metal for more info contact hatredmeanswar@yahoo.com looking for new authors do to lack of time to cover everything email me at the email listed above if you want to do reviews and interviews for the blog.

Wednesday, August 31, 2016

Zealot Cult are a band from Ireland that plays an old school form of death metal and this is a review of their 2016 ep "Karemenian Crypt" which was released by Blood Harvest

A very heavy and old school sound starts off the ep along with some blast beats when t he music speeds up and death metal growls a few seconds later and the music is very heavily rooted in the mid 80's to early 90's era of the genre and all of the musical instruments have a very powerful sound to them.

At times a small amount of melody can be heard on the recording and the songs also bring in a great mixture of slow, mid paced and fast parts and when guitar solos and leads are utilized they stick to an old school style of death metal while also having there melodic moments and all of the songs sound like they could of easily been recorded and released more than 20 years ago. and all of the songs stick to a very heavy musical direction and there is also a brief use of clean singing on the last track along with some technical elements while also being very long and epic in length.

Zealot Cult plays a style of death metal that is very traditional and rooted in the early 90's era of the genre, the production sounds very old school yet professional at the same time while the lyrics cover dark themes.

In my opinion Zealot Cult are a very great sounding old school death metal band and if you are a fan of this musical genre, you should check out this ep. RECOMMENDED TRACK "Eternal Winter". 8 out of 10.

Tuesday, August 30, 2016

Virvum are a band from Switzerland that plays a very technical and progressive form of death metal and this is a review of their self released 2016 album "Illuminance" which will be released in September.

Sci-fi sounds start off the album before going into more of a heavier and technical direction and the solos and leads also demonstrate a great amount of talent and skill while the faster sections of the songs also utilize a great amount of blast beats and the bass guitar also brings leads into some parts of the songs.

At times the music can be progressive, atmospheric and experimental while t he songs also bring in a great mixture of slow, mid paced and fast parts and the vocals are mostly death metal growls along with some high pitched screams and acoustic guitars can also be heard more as the album progresses and some of the tracks are very long and epic in length and some of the fast riffs also bring in a small amount of tremolo picking and there is also a brief instrumental and on the last track a brief use of clean singing can be heard.

Virvum plays a style of death metal that is very progressive and technical sounding as well as being more different and original than most bands of this genre, the production sounds very professional for being a self released recording while the lyrics cover dark and philosophical themes.

In my opinion Virvum are a very great sounding progressive and technical death metal band and if you are a fan of this musical genre, you should check out this album. RECOMMENDED TRACKS INCLUDE "Earthwork" "Tentacles Of The Sun" and "II A Final Warning Sign - Acsension And Trespassing". 8 out of 10.

1.Can you give us an update on what has been going on with the band since the recording and release of the new ep?

Since the release of ‘Beyond the Celestial Realms’ we have been focusing on writing future releases and covering as much as the UK as possible.

2.In April you had released a new ep, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording and also how does it differ from the stuff you have released in the past?

Our previous release was a single called ‘Dustbowl’ which featured a cover of Sepultura’s ‘Arise’ - ‘Beyond the Celestial Realms’ is our first official release as the collective line-up we are now, the music and atmosphere between the single and the EP has taken a massive leap forward and has matured along with the band. There is a constant progression towards our next release.

3.Your lyrics cover a great amount of science fiction themes, can you tell us a little bit more about your interest in this topic?

Our interest in Sci-Fi all started at an early age with the introduction of films like Star Wars, Alien etc. and books such as Dune - Xander also has an interest in H. P. Lovecraft, a lot of our lyrical themes are built around the idea of combining cosmic horror and fictional alien realms.

4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Cryptic Shift'?

The name of the band was inspired somewhat by the Atheist album ‘Unquestionable Presence’, one of our favourite records!

5.What are some of the best shows that the band has played over the years and also how would you describe your stage performance?

We recently came back from supporting Vektor (US) during their ‘Recharging the UK/Ireland’ tour - that was pretty awesome! Vektor have always being one of our favourite current artists in the Thrash genre, so going out with those guys for the three dates was an out of this world experience (no pun intended). Supporting other artists such as Exodus and Municipal Waste are up there in our highlights! Our stage show is often much faster than on record - so bring a neck brace.

6.Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?

2017 is going to see us hitting mainland Europe for the first time, and as always we have plans to tour the UK in-between. We’re pretty excited - keep your eye out for tour dates and festival apperences!

7.The ep was released through both 'Nightbreaker Productions' and 'Fractured Mind Records', are you happy with the support both of the labels have given you so far?

Fractured Mind Records is run by Ryan and Xander - it was founded as a DIY label to help push artists from the UK who we feel deserve the attention! Check out the Bandcamp/Facebook page to hear releases from our friends in Redeye Revival, Desolator and String Villains! Nightbreaker Productions approached us with interest of a re-release of ‘Beyond The Celestial Realms’ with intention to help promote our music throughout Europe, we were very pleased to find that they had interest in our material and have found that working with them is a pleasure.

8.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of death and thrash metal?

The EP orders have come in from all quadrants of the earth, which was pretty surprising to see! We’ve had very positive responses from new friends, online and at shows, it’s impacting to see our music is inspiring people from all over the place!

9.When can we expect a full length album and also where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?

As for the full length we currently feel no pressure to release anything longer than an extended-play. We hope to be bringing out a two-track release sometime in the first quarter of 2017, expect to hear a heavier themed sound similar to the likes of Gorguts and Revocation - without losing our Sci-Fi signature.

10.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

Collectively we all listen to a lot of musical styles - from Hardcore Punk to Folk, although a lot of our current interests are artists such as Gorguts, Revocation, Obscura, Foreseen, Havok, Death and Defeated Sanity.

Saturday, August 27, 2016

Carnophage are a band from Turkey that plays a very brutal and technical form of death metal and this is a review of their 2016 album "Monument" which will be released in September by Unique Leader.

A very dark sounding intro starts off the album along with t he sounds of humans being tortured and after the intro the music goes into a very fast and brutal death metal direction along with some growling vocals and technical elements and the riffs also bring in a small amount of melody in some parts of the songs.

Throughout the recording you can hear a great mixture of slow, mid paced and fast parts while clean playing can also be heard in certain sections of the recording and when guitar solos and leads are utilized they stick to a very melodic style and all of the musical instruments have a very powerful sound to them and there is also a brief use of grim screams.

Carnophage plays a style of death metal that is very brutal yet technical at the same time and they also display a great amount of talent and skill as musicians, the production sounds very professional while the lyrics cover death and torture themes.

In my opinion Carnophage are a very great sounding technical and brutal death metal band and if you are a fan of this musical genre, you should check out this album. RECOMMENDED TRACKS INCLUDE "Second Genesis" "Unbroken Fortitude" "Ode To Corruption" and "Inertia And Failure". 8 out of 10.

Tuesday, August 23, 2016

1.For those that have never heard of you before,can you tell us a little bit about the musical project?

qip is my solo effort. At this moment in life I found it easier working alone and I felt an urge to try doing it on my own to learn new things in the process. It's a result of 3 year production cycle. Long nights of painstaking work. Trial and error. Moments of frustration, doubt,enlightenment and satisfaction. I started off with just an acoustic guitar and wrote most of the riffs that way. The material sounded quite heavy and dark in that primal form already. I demoed the songs and started adding different elements, building soundscapes, evokingcinematic atmosphere and epic feel. It's a mix of many influences from different kinds of metal but those who know me say it's just my style.

2.So far you have released one album, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording?

Sure. Vocal wise it sits comfortably in death metal domain. The songs are just full of growls and lyrics are long. Apart from death metal, there are elements of bitter doom, industrial metal and sf soundtrackmusic. The album is full of melodies, which I think is unique quality in death/industrial genre. This time I decided to make the rhythms straightforward so the songs flow in a catchy way. It's a heavily layered material - a wall of sound which was hard to mix. Guitars are heavy and big - down tuned to C and played in a modified open tuning. The album was mastered (by my friend Darran Thompson) without heavy limiting to preserve the dynamics and avoid crushing. This is important because the songs are very dynamic - building up from mellow, atmospheric parts to roaring climaxes. The perceived loudness levels are close to albums released in the 80ties and it makes the sound more natural and less ear-fatiguing when played back really loud.

3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects you explore with your music?

There is a variety of themes and in 8 out of 9 songs the subjects shouldbe very clear to anyone who reads the lyrics. Every song tells a story. I explored espionage, totalitarianism, psychology of revenge, alien abductions, transhumanism, nuclear holocaust, Kursk submarine disaster. One song - "Ergoregion" has a dual meaning - the literal one which is a venture into a hard sf territory and metaphorical one which refers to mypersonal circumstances.

4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'qip'?

It is not a real name. It's an ASCII representation of a symmetrical symbol resembling a house fly head. I did not want any names and went for something like this to avoid cliches ever present in metal.

5.With this musical project you record everything by yourself, are you open to working with other musicians or do you prefer to remain solo?

Yes, in future I would like to start working with other people again.Completing projects takes less time when you can share the workload. There are synergies that I was missing too, but you need the right people to have these.

6.You also took a 13 year hiatus from music, what was the decision to comeback?

I had been writing music for my solo material before but I there was not enough motivation to learn the technical side of the music making process - recording and mixing - until around 2012 when for some reason I found it more interesting and started to learn quickly. The best wayto absorb this kind of knowledge is to put it into practice so the album brought a huge educational benefit but it also meant I had to spend three years until I was happy about the sound.

7.The album is getting re-issued by Arachnophobia Records, are you happy with the support they have given you so far?

Yes. Arachnophobia is a small independent label with great reputation and strong integrity. Renowned of consistent quality output, interesting bands and beautifully packaged albums - they never disappoint and make areal impact with the albums they release. I feel the songs are too good to end up in just an electronic format available for download from bandcamp so I decided to approach some labels and I was very happy when Arachnophobia expressed their interest in releasing my music.

8.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of death metal and industrial?

I have not reached a bigger audience as I was limited to my own promotional capabilities which are very limited. The album has gathered very positive feedback and some really good reviews so far. I'm havingmore publicity these days thanks to the label's support and the fact that it is going to be released on CD in 3 weeks. This is just the start.

9.Where do you see yourself heading into as a musician in the future?

I would like to try stepping out of my comfort zone as well as improving my skills as a composer, producer, guitarist and growler. I've been thinking of making an sf horror ambient record with impressive melodiesand creepy atmosphere.

10.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

Despite my metal background I do not have a favourite genre. I listen to some bands or artists which I found interesting at some point in my life and I am sure all o them influence me in a direct or subliminal way.

My family life is very busy at the moment so there is not much time left for hobbies. I love long distance and uphill running. My house is located at the foot of a massive hill. The views from the top arestunning. On a fair day you could see the whole province from the Mournes to County Donegal plus the coast of Scotland and Isle of Man and the whole Belfast City panorama. I try to get up there as often aspossible. It's a punishing steep uphill 9 mile run but totally worth it.

12.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?

Check my album. It was recorded in a tiny box room but sounds bigger than many records produced in studios. It's full of information andsonic content, interesting concepts, engaging atmosphere and massivegrowls. I hope you will enjoy.

Sunday, August 21, 2016

Morbid Spawn are a band from Sweden that plays an old school form of death metal and this is a review of their 2016 song "Path To The Celestral Realm".

A very heavy sound starts off the song along with some death metal growls and the music is very heavily rooted in the 90's and the vocals also bring in a few screams and you can also hear all of the musical instruments that are present on the track while the song also brings in a small amount of melody along with a great mixture of slow, mid paced and fast parts.

Morbid Spawn plays a style of death metal that is very heavily rooted in the early 90's while also having some brutality, the production sounds very powerful for being a self released recording while the lyrics cover dark themes.

In my opinion Morbid Spawn are a very great sounding old school death metal band and if you are a fan of this musical genre, you should check out their song. 8 out of 10.

qip are a band from the United Kingdom that plays a mixture of death, electro and industrial metal and this is a review of their 2016 album "On Ephermetal Substrates" which was released by Arachnophobia Records.

Distorted sounds and a dark atmosphere start off the album and after awhile spoken word samples are added onto the recording which also leads up to more of an industrial direction along with some growling vocals that also gives the songs more of a death metal edge and the guitars start getting heavier.

At times melody can be heard in the music and some of the tracks are very long and epic in length and when the music speeds up a decent amount of blast beats can be heard and the songs also bring in a great mixture of slow, mid paced and fast parts and all of the musical instruments have a very powerful sound to them and clean playing can also be heard in certain sections of the recording and when guitar solos and leads are utilized they are done in a very melodic fashion.

qip plays a musical style that takes death metal and mixes it with electro and industrial to create a sound of their own, the production sounds very professional while the lyrics cover science fiction and political themes.

In my opinion qip are a very great sounding mixture of death metal, electro and industrial and if you are a fan of those musical genres, you should check out this band. RECOMMENDED TRACKS INCLUDE "Industrial Espionage" "Discarded Specimans" "Ergoregion" and "This Place Is A Tomb". 8 out of 10.

Saturday, August 20, 2016

Ade are a band from Italy that has been featured before in this zine and plays a very brutal form of death metal with some folk elements and this is a review of their 2016 album "Carthago Delenda Est" which was released by Xtreem Music.

A very dark and medieval sound starts off the album bringing in the atmosphere of an epic movie along with some folk music elements and after awhile the music starts going into a heavier musical direction and when the music speeds up a great amount of blast beats can be heard while the vocals are death metal growls.

Throughout the recording there is a great mixture of slow, mid paced and fast parts and when guitar solos and leads are utilized they are done in a very yet melodic fashion and they also mix in the folk elements in with the heavier parts at times and some songs also bring in elements of modern metal and there is also a brief use of female vocals and high pitched screams can also be heard on some tracks and there is also a brief use of spoken word parts.

Ade creates another recording that remains true to the epic death metal style of previous recordings while also adding more folk elements this time around, the production sounds very professional while the lyrics cover Ancient Rome.

In my opinion this is another great sounding recording from Ade and if you are a fan of epic death metal, you should check out this album. RECOMMENDED TRACKS INCLUDE "Across The Wolf's Blood" "Dark Days Of Rome" and "Sowing Salt". 8 out of 10.

Thursday, August 18, 2016

Decomposed are a band from Sweden that has been featured before in this zine and plays a very old school form of death metal and this is a review of their 2016 album "Wither" which will be released in October by Chaos Records.

Death metal growls and heavy guitars start off the album along with some morbid sounding melodies also being utilized at times and after awhile death metal growls also start making their presence known on the recording and the guitar solos are also very melodic and they also stick to an old school style.

When the music speeds up a great amount of blast beats can be heard and the songs also bring in a great mixture of slow, mid paced and fast parts and the music is very heavily rooted in the 90's while also having more of an up to date take on the genre and some tracks also bring in a brief use of clean guitars and all of the musical instruments have a very powerful sound to them and one of the tracks is very long and epic in length.

Decomposed creates another recording that remains true to the old school Swedish style of death metal from the previous release, the production sounds very professional while the lyrics cover dark themes.

In my opinion this is another great sounding recording from Decomposed and if you are a fan of old school death metal, you should check out this album. RECOMMENDED TRACKS INCLUDE "By Nothingness Crowned" "Submerged" and "Into Nothing". 8 out of 10.

Wednesday, August 17, 2016

1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?

We are First Fragment, a metal band that formed in Quebec, Canada back in 2007 as a trio - myself on Lead Guitar / Vocals, David AB on Lead Vocals and Gabriel Brault-Pilon on Rhythm Guitar. After releasing a few demos and an EP in the 3 years that followed, we eventually found a drummer and a bass player and we played numerous gigs with a full line-up. We started recording our debut album Dasein in mid 2013 but the project was put on hiatus after our former drummer left the band. We finally found Troy Fullerton of Severed Savior to record session drums on the album and we signed with Unique Leader Records shortly after so they could release our long overdue album. Dasein was released on May 20th through Unique Leader Records and we found our full-time drummer Samuel Santiago (ex Gorod) after the album was completed. We are now writing our 2nd album and we're doing a few small tours this year.

2.In May you had your first full length coming out, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording?

An unusual, yet coherent mixture of technical death metal, power/neoclassical metal and flamenco. We play highly aggressive and relentless music, but our riffs are often easy to understand as they follow very simplechord progressions despite of how complex they seem to sound at first. Combine that with omnipresent neoclassical shredding, some jazzy parts, inhumanly fast (but occasionally groovy) drum work, bass work in the vein of Watchtower and Augury and dual vocals entirely sung in french and you have Dasein. It's a very over the top album, and some people might find it "all over the place", but all the true shred junkies out there will find something in this album they'll like for sure.

3.This is your first release in 6 years, can you tell us a little bit more about what has been going on during that time span?

I'll just give you the short version. We had line-up problems and suffered from a long hiatus during these years, and there were a few minor delays after the album was fully finished back in summer 2015. It would take me too long to talk about everything that has happened in these 6 years. We're glad this nightmare is over. We can now focus on other things.

4.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?

Dasein is a conceptual album. The story behind it is so detailed and complex that our vocalist is currently writing a book about it. Even regular liner notes (like NILE does) wouldn't be sufficient. His lyrics are very personal and very abstract. He writes using rhymes and enigmatic poetry. It's safe to say that only him truly knows the meaning behind each sentence as each reveal a different ocurrance or event of the story taking place within the song. Every song is connected together as a whole as if they were chapters from a book.

5.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'First Fragment'?

It was just a working title that stuck. There is no specific meaning behind it.

6.What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and also how would you describe your stage performance?

We played some of our best shows just this last month, including Quebec City that had one of the best crowds we ever played to. Our stage presence isn't necessarily as lively or bouncy as say, a slam death metal/deathcore band because we constantly have to focus on performing our already extremely challenging material as flawlessly as possible (even if it's impossible to be 100% perfect). But our performances are often extremely intense and are always an all-out assault on your senses. People like it, or they don't. There is no in-between. We don't do compromises with our music. People get hurt, necks get sore, and people often leave with bruises, but they all leave the venue satisfied.

7.Do you have any touring or show plans once the new album is released?

We did a small tour in July and we have another short tour coming this fall. We're also doing a few dates with The Black Dahlia Murder in October.

8.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of technical death metal?

Heh, it was okay. The fans who were waiting for the album since 2010 were all extremely satisfied, and Dasein definitely turned some heads as almost all of the reviews we've had were overwhelmingly positive. Although we have garnered the respect of many artists and bands we love, we're still relatively obscure in our own scene. I mean, we're the only Québécois metal band to EVER release an album that's all composed in french on an American label, and almost no one from here has taken notice of that even though people here all circle-jerk over the same few francophone metal bands because they sing in french. We don't have THAT many fans in our own country compared to other areas in the world. Doesn't mean we'll stop working our asses off though. We'll continue working hard on our music so that in a few years, every technical death metal fan in the world will know about us and will either respect us or hate us.

9.What is going on with some of the other bands or musical projects these days that some of the band members are a part of?

I have been extremely active with my other projects. I play in Chthe'ilist, Serocs, Zealotry and Atramentus. 3 of these bands released full-length albums with label support in the past 9 months with the addition of First Fragment's Dasein with Unique Leader Records. Samuel has done session work with various other projects in the meanwhile and Vincent is playing shows and putting out albums with his other two bands Bisbâyé & Golden Python.

10.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?

In a few years, we'll be doing exactly what we're doing now, but better and better. No compromises, no core, no trends, not ever betraying our roots. Only neoclassical death metal is real. We won't change our way of doing things for anyone, EVER.

11.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

We are greatly influenced by Technical Death Metal, 80's power/neoclassical metal, video game music and Baroque/Romantic era classical music and some Flamenco. From Joey Tafolla and Apocrypha to Spawn of Possession, N. Paganini and Paco De Lucia. And F-ZERO X.

When it comes to the music that I listen to on a daily basis, I mainly stick to 80's heavy/power/speed metal, Epic Doom Metal and Funeral Doom. I listen to some black metal bands like Grand Belial's Key and Kataxu once in a while too. I am a huge 90's death metal geek as well.

Speaking of which, my current playlist for the night is :

Utumno - Across the HorizonCrystal Age - Far Beyond Divine HorizonsGrotesque - In the embrace of evilScald - Will of the gods is great power

12.What are some of your non musical interests?

Movies, video games, hanging out with my friends, etc. Nothing special. I'm a very ordinary person. But music is my life and my greatest passion.

13.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?

Thank you very much for thinking of us for the interview (and sorry for the immense delay!!)

Tuesday, August 16, 2016

Dementia 13 are a band from Portugal that plays an old school form of death metal and this is a review of t heir
2016 album "Ways Of Enclosure" which will be released on
cassette in September by Caverna Abismal Records.

Spoken word samples start off the album before going into a
heavier direction and the riffs also bring in melodies at
times and the music is also very heavily rooted in the early
90' and you can also hear all of the musical instruments
that are present on the recording and after awhile death
metal growls make their presence known on the recording.

When the music speeds up a decent amount of blast beats can be heard and the guitar solos and leads also remain true to an old school style of death metal and the songs also bring in a great mixture of slow, mid paced and fast parts and all of the songs also sound like they could of easily been recorded and released 25 years ago and horror movie samples are also a very huge part of the songs.and they also bring in an instrumental version of the 'Halloween' theme while the remaining songs do have vocals but there is also another instrumental that also brings in a brief use of clean guitars and violins and the last song is very long and epic in length.

Dementia 13 plays a style of death metal that is very traditional and old school in the early 90's tradition, the production sounds very professional while the lyrics cover horror movies, serial killers, gore and cinema themes.

In my opinion Dementia 13 are a very great sounding old school style death metal band and if you are a fan of this musical genre, you should check out this cassette. RECOMMENDED TRACKS INCLUDE "Orgy Of Bloodshed" "Only Whores Die Young" and "Dawn Of Chaos". 8 out of 10.

1.Can you give us an update on what has been going on with the band since the recording of the new album?

After recording the album we are focusing on promotion, interviews and soon we will have a super cool pre-order package with exclusive cover artwork, guitar pics, t-shirts.From December we will start rehearsing to unleash Ritual Theophagy live in 2017. A set list, including songs taken from the new album aswell as from On the Inexistence of God and Devouring Deception is ready yet.

2.You have a new album coming out in October, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording and also how does it differ from the stuff you have released in the past?

Ritual Theophagy represents a turning point within our musical production, though our trademark is still clearly recognizable. As for the previous releases technical skills were often pushed to the limit (just because this is how we are used to play music) and no concessions were made to musical trends.Blasphemer has never been a wanna-be mainstream band and it is still deep rooted in the underground.On the other hand our arrangement skills evolved into a more mature form, focusing mostly on songwriting, achieving a new balance between brutality and blackened atmospheres (that were almost missing in theprevious full-length and ep), being able to deliver better structured songs.

3.This is the first album to be released in 6 years, can you tell us a little bit more about what has been going on during that time span?

Since 2010, right after the releasing of Devouring Deception, Blasphemer suffered line-up problems. We kept playing show with different members until 2013 but the frequent changes didn’t allowed us to create music with a solid line up and finally discouraged us to the point that me and Paolo were about to give up and disband Blasphemer once and for all. Moreover at that time we were having troubles with the present members and we quit playing for a while. Finally we decide to build up a new line up, hoping that it would have brought Blasphemer back to life but the fact is that we couldn’t find a drummer. Musician we get in touch with, were asking for money and crazy conditions we couldn’t neither afford nor understand. We feltclearly that the good days were behind us and, as it always happen, the great support we had in the scene almost disappeared. Moreover we felt that the Death Metal scene itself was changing, turning intosomething that we couldn’t recognize anymore, something we were not part of. After 1 year spent searching without success a drummer in our country, we were literally sick of it (I have to say that we never asked Davide Billia about it, because we knew he were extreme busy with his various projects and now I know he would have helped us. Well, it went this way: we missed a chance!). One evening I was drinking whiskey with Paolo and told him I was reckoning to record what we composed in the meanwhile, at least just guitars, then and only then we would have tried once again to find a drummer in order to complete the album. He agreed immediately, we were probably drunk. So, some days later I went to Clod’s place and askedhim to join us in what seemed to be an impossible task. Of course he agreed, as I expected. At that time we just had 6 songs finished and a bunch of sketches. On July 2014 I entered the studios, recorded everything, composing what was missing during the recording session. We had 12 songs tracked and they were actually pretty good. At the end of the year me and Clod took care of the drums, writing its parts with a drum machine while Paolo started composing the vocal lines. It took a long time because we were really busy in our personal life. For example we could work for one entire night, quitting for a couple of weeks and then another night was spent on the album. However we finished and so we had to think seriously who could record the drums. We were brought back once again to the starting point: it was really frustrating and several times we were about to quit everything but we held on and moved forward anyway.Since in the past we had better feedback in the USA (we actually started working with Eddy Hoffmann who recorded a raw version of I Deny which was awesome, but then he had to quit due to personal reasonsuch as luck of time, a new born son etc.) we decided to extend the research worldwide. We met in a bar and in front of some beers we all agreed that the one and only person we wanted to work with was ourfavorite drummer ever. We were afraid that he would have declined but he had nothing to lose, so the day after I sent an E-Mail to Mr. Darren Cesca and…suddenly he was in! We were overexcited and the newsbrought a new, unexpected and powerfull energy to the whole project. The impossible task was going to be realized. Darren refused the drum parts we had written and never listened to them, since we wanted to compose them by his own, from the very start. After a while we received the first sketch and we all thought: “Damn! That’s exactly what we were looking for!”.Darren did a great job and he is one of the most talented and professional artist I ever worked with. It has been a pleasure and an honor for me to have the chance to work with such an amazing drummer. Furthermore I put a lot of effort and passion in composing and playingour stuff: I remember my cell-phone was always on and (due to time-difference) I received messages from him in the middle of the night, asking about lyrics, artwork, and everything related to the album. I couldn’t be more satisfied than this. The drums arrangement took a while and wasn’t easy cause me and Darrennever played together, we speak different languages etc. but it worked and worked so good! Once the drums were recorded we had to arrange all the vocals once again, changing lyrics here and there as well because a lot had been changed; plus we started writing the bass parts that Clod recorded onthe basis of the drum parts. This is the crazy story of how Ritual Theophagy was born. After a longhiatus Blasphemer had a new album and looking back at all the troubles we went through, I still can’t believe it is real.

4.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the newer music?

Concerning the themes of the lyrics, we remained faithful to our Anti-Christian approach. I wrote down all the titles but the lyrics were mostly written by Paolo. I tried to write some ideas but they were way too conceptual and didn’t fit the music, its intensity and the whole mood of the album. Instead, Paolo has a no-compromise attitude, he just doesn’t give a fuck about offending people, so-called values and institutions, so he was the right person to express in words what we were with our instruments. Anti-Christian Extremism, for example, is the perfect epitome of Paolo’ style and I love the way it’s echoing early Deicide’s lyrics.

5.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Blasphemer'?

At the time me and Paolo started Blasphemer we just wanted to play straight anti-christian Death Metal in the vein of Deicide, one of our favorite bands and actually things ain’t changed. The band name comefrom a Deicide song “Blaspherereion” that we adapted to Blasphemer. I still remember, back in the days during the late 90’s I met Paolo in a small park in our hometown, where we were used to go drinking andtalking about music. We sat on a bench drinking the worst low quality beer of the world, it was warm and tasted like rotting organs, delivered a strong, instant headache but, you know, we were the weirdguys with long hair and black clothes in a small town, so drinking that shit was part of the game and it seemed to ass so badass! Well, we were young and we cared only about music. We were looking forband’s name and when Paolo came out with Blasphemer we agreed immediately: it had to be our band’s name!

6.What are some of the best shows that the band has played over the years and also how would you describe your stage performance?

Our best performances took place during the Comatour 2011, cause we were damn tight at that time. Nonetheless I remember lots of good shows we played and the main common thing of our shows was theferocity and intensity we created live. The 4 vocals attack, the fast riffing, the crazy blasting…well, it was almost noise but risen from the depth of hell!

7.Do you have any touring or show plans once the new album is released?

Definitely yes. We are going to bring Ritual Theophagy on stage. We are discussing right now with a super talented drummer about it. We’ll start rehearsing later this year but I think we won’t play live showsbefore 2017.

8.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of brutal death metal?

Feedback has always been great and faithful. As I told you before, we are not a mainstream band and we never will but though the long hiatus our fans are still there, asking for more brutality. Indonesia and USAare our best audience. Europe is cool, has the biggest festivals and crowds, but somehow here people follow trends more than elsewhere. Nowadays our style of Death Metal isn’t very popular in Europe,metalheads here seem to dislike ultra-guttural voices, weird riffs and no-compromise blasting brutality. Luckily there are die hard brutal fans that still make shows possible.

9.What is going on with some of the other bands or musical projects these days that some of the band members are a part of?

I read a couple of days ago that Darren is going to record the new Deeds Of Flesh album and I can’t wait to listen his amazing drumming within the context of such big band, that represents a milestone inbrutal death metal. Paolo recently recorded 2 songs on the Vacuus demo, which is very fucking good and Clod is working on the drums for the new Modus Delicti album. I play also in Beheaded (pretty awesome for me, since I always loved this band!) and later this year the new album Beast Incarnate will be released via Unique Leader.

10.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?

Honestly I don’t know. I went through too many troubles and I know from my experience that long time prediction are impossible. I can tell you that we would like to record a new concept EP against anykind of religion. Against religion itself. I have some stuff written, we’ll see how and when.

11.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your newer music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

I could name tons of bands that directly or indirectly influenced our music, but this doesn’t mean that it sounds similar to one of them. Deicide, Morbid Angel, Broken Hope, Deeds of Flesh have always playeda big role in our music but if I should reach a total of 10 bands in my death metal pantheon I must add Incantation, Immolation, Obituary, Infernal Torment, Gorgasm and the mighty Dead Congregation.Recently I am listening a lot of Inquisition, The Chasm, Disma and Coffins as well as King Diamond and Motorhead of course!

12.Does Satanism or Occultism play any role in your music?

Occultism is a trend nowadays (it seems that cryptic signs on Cds are more popular than pussy) but personally I don’t give a fuck about it. I hate every form of cult and occultism as well as Satanism seem to me like an hybrid form of religious, superstitious and irrational devotion, something that I detest. You can say that Ritual Theophagy is full of satanic issues, praise, etc. but I want to highlight that all reference to Satan in the album are metaphoric. Satan represents in our album the mere symbol of the opposition to god, religion, cult, church and similar shit. Moreover it has an aesthetical value and role within the entire concept.

13.What are some of your non musical interests?

I have tons of interests outside music, from philosophy (especially the german philosophy of the 18th century) and literature (especially the german one of the XIX and XX). I don’t collect human skulls or WW2 relics, I do have several horror movies but not that much and honestlyI prefer spaghetti western and porn!

14.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?

First of all, thank you very much for the interview. Second, and to all the death metal fans out there: check the new album out and be prepared for a sonic annihilation! Final words…well I remember the verse of a Deicide song about it: “ gofuck your god, will be my final words!”www.facebook.com/blasphemerbrutal www.comatosemusic.com

Saturday, August 13, 2016

Darkrypt are a band from India that plays a very old school form of death metal and this is a review of their 2016 album "Delirious Excursion" which will be released in October by Transcending Obscurity India.

Clean guitar playing starts off the album and after the intro the music goes into more of a heavier and melodic musical direction and the music is very heavily rooted in the early 90's style of European death metal and after awhile growls make their presence known on the recording and the faster sections also use a decent amount of blast beats.

High pitched screams can be heard in the music at times and the solos stick to more of a melodic style while the songs also bring in a great mixture of slow, mid paced and fast parts and clean playing also makes a return in certain sections of the recording and there is also a brief use of spoken word parts and they also bring in an instrumental and some of the fast riffs also utilize a decent amount of tremolo picking.

Darkrypt plays a style of death metal that is very old school and rooted in the early 90's European style, the production sounds very professional while the lyrics cover dark and gore themes.

In my opinion Darkrypt are a very great sounding old school style death metal band and if you are a fan of this musical genre, you should check out this recording. RECOMMENDED TRACKS INCLUDE "Dark Crypt" "Cryptic Illusions" and "The inducer". 8 out of 10.

Blasphemer are a band from Italy that plays a very brutal
and technical form of death metal and this is a review of
their 2016 album "Ritual Theophagy" which will be released in
October by Comatose Music.

Spoken word samples
start off the album before going into a very fast and brutal
direction t hat also uses a great amount of blast beats and a
few seconds later death metal growls and high pitched screams
make their presence known on the recording and you can also
hear some melody and groove in the riffs.

At
times the music can be very technical while all of the
musical instruments have a very powerful sound to them and
the songs also bring in a great mixture of slow, mid paced
and fast parts and the guitar leads remain very true to a
traditional death metal style and spoken word parts also make a return in certain sections of the recording along with a brief use of horror movie samples while the main focus remains more on a heavy and brutal style.

Blasphemer plays a style of death metal that has some old school elements while also being very technical and adding in the modern day brutality, the production sounds very professional while the lyrics cover blasphemy, evil, and anti religion themes.

In my opinion Blasphemer are a very great sounding technical and brutal death metal band and if you are a fan of this musical genre, you should check out this album. RECOMMENDED TRACKS INCLUDE "Suicide For Satan" "Worship In The Void" "Obscuring The Holy Light" and "I Deny". 8 out of 10.

Tuesday, August 9, 2016

Cryptic Shift are a band from the United Kingdom that plays a progressive mixture of death and thrash metal and this is a review of t heir 2016 ep "Beyond the Celestial Realms" which was released by Nightbreaker Productions.

A sci-fi orientated atmosphere starts off the ep along with some clean guitars a few seconds later and after the intro the music goes into more of an old school thrash metal direction along with some death metal growls and you can also hear all of the musical instruments that are present on the recording.

When the music speeds up a great amount of blast beats can be heard and the music goes for a mid 80's style which is more closer to the death metal style when it was still evolving out of thrash and the songs also bring in a great mixture of slow, mid paced and fast parts and clean playing also makes a return in certain sections of some of the tracks which gives the music more of a progressive feeling while the solos and leads are done in a very melodic yet technical style and the vocals also mix in screams at times.

Cryptic Shift plays a musical style that goes back to t he mid 80's mixing both the death and thrash metal styles of that era with some progressive structures, the production sounds very old school while the lyrics cover science fiction, war and perception themes.

In my opinion Cryptic Shift are a very great sounding old school and progressive mixture of death and thrash metal and if you are a fan of those musical genres, you should check out this band. RECOMMENDED TRACKS INCLUDE "Voyage Through Dimesnsions" and "Glacial Reclamation". 8 out of 10.

Saturday, August 6, 2016

Sacramental Blood are a band from Serbia that plays a very brutal form of death metal and this is a review of their 2016 album "Ternion Deomarchy" which was released as a joint effort between Ghastly Music, Miner Records, and Rebirth The Metal Productions.

A very heavy and brutal sound starts off the album as well as speeding up and bringing in a great amount of blast beats and you can also hear all of the musical instruments that are present on the recording and the riffs also bring in melodies at times while the vocals are mostly death metal growls with some screams.

Throughout the recording you can hear a great mixture of slow, mid paced and fast parts and the solos and leads bring in an old school style of death metal and you can also hear a lot of 90's influences in the bands musical style while also sounding very modern at the same time and there is also a couple of brief instrumentals which also uses a decent amount of classical guitars before making a return back to a heavier direction as well as a few seconds of spoken word parts on one of the tracks.

Sacramental Blood plays a style of death metal that is very heavily rooted in the 90's style but then with a more modern day brutality, the production sounds very professional while the lyrics cover darkness, death and gore themes.

In my opinion Sacramental Blood are a very great sounding brutal death metal band and if you are a fan of this musical genre, you should check out this recording. RECOMMENDED TRACKS INCLUDE "Demonized" "Nearest To The God" and "Livid Deaths Descend". 8 out of 10.

Friday, August 5, 2016

Harm are a band from Germany that plays a very old school form of death metal and this is a review of their 2016 album "The Evil" which was released by Final Gate Records.

A very dark yet heavy sound starts off the album and you can also hear all of the musical instruments that are present on the recording and after awhile death metal growls make their presence known in the music and most of the tracks are very heavily rooted in the early 90's style of the genre.

While the music is rooted in the old school style the production makes the music sound more modern and the solos and leads are also done in a very traditional death metal style and when the music speeds up a great amount of blast beats can be heard and the songs also bring in a great mixture of slow, mid paced and fast parts while also utilizing melodic riffing at times and some songs also bring in 80's influences and the whole album also remains very heavy from beginning to ending of the recording.

Harm plays a style of death metal that takes the 80's and 90's styles and gives them a more modern twist, the production sounds very professional while the lyrics cover war, death and anti religion themes.

In my opinion Harm are a very great sounding old school death metal band and if you are a fan of this musical genre, you should check out this album. RECOMMENDED TRACKS INCLUDE "Vlad the Impaler" "The Evil" "Gutted Like A Dear" and "Panzer Apocalypse". 8 out of 10.

Tuesday, August 2, 2016

1. For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band ?

Archetype is on a quest to deliver as much "in your face" metal as we can possibly achieve. Raw energy, complex structures, an "all over the place" feel all in the name of the greatness and powerful cathartic force that is metal.

2. Recently you have released a new album, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording and also how does it differ from the stuff you have released in the past ?

The musical sound that is presented on the recording is that of a brick in your face. It differs from the stuff we released in the past because we never released anything else. It has for objective to go beyond the standards of metal music: the song structures are often a sequence of motivic transformations of a single idea; kinda like cells mutating into something bigger, evolving and building up into a climax that breaks loose into a heavy “in your face” riff. It had to sound organic, dirty and gritty, yet absolutely clear. This was the challenge of Ann Ton-Ihn, who recorded/mixed the album, and we’re pretty happy with the final result !

3. What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music ?

Anger, arrogance, megalomania, inner struggles

4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Archetype' ?

The word Archetype in itself is a philosophical concept referring to "pure forms" that embodies the "fundamental characteristics" of a thing. Like a inherited unconscious idea, pattern of thought, that is universally regarded as such. Since we aim to do nothing less than "pure in your face metal", we thought the name embodied that idea.

5.What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and also how would you describe your stage performance ?

Our very first show was something special, our first show with guitarist Jan-Kristöfr had a special flavor too, so was our album release show. Shows in Quebec city were great to, for once we had great soundmen there !!! :p

Our stage performance is pretty eccentric, we love to move, run, jump, raise middle fingers and wreck havoc like a bunch of teenagers trying to transform into Super Sayans. We take time to rehearse our stage performance, the windmill headbangs are synchronized, the choreographed elements are prepared in advance and we beat ourselves to have as much energy as possible.

6.Do you have any touring or show plans for the future ?

We have a show scheduled for Trailer Trash Fest 2016 in Beloeil. Next we'll be focusing on looking for a new guitarist to replace our parting one.

7.Currently you are unsigned, are you looking for a label or have received any interest ?

We sent copies to labels but nobody has shown interest yet.

8.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of progressive, death and thrash metal ?

On one hand we got praise for our originality, refreshing sound and "demented in your face" attitude. On the other we got criticism for playing total nonsense, acting like spoiled brats and being "bad musicians with a lot of determination". All in all, seems like we’re succeeding in our mission: making people react.

9.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future ?

During the future... the band is musically heading toward a brickwall that will disintegrate out of sheer anger. The next album will be a more common effort, the first one being exclusively composed by Pash-Khaal, Jan-Kristöfr will join creative forces and both have already started to work on new material. They elaborated a concept revolving around a megalomaniac thirst for complete, utter divine destruction.

We’ll be experimenting a bunch of things to broaden our sound. We’ll look into Québec’s traditional music and rythms for an inch of folk inspiration, write more lyrics before starting to write music so we can follow the text as guideline, we’ll look into balinese gamelan for some rythmical approaches, maybe a cover of the 2nd movement of the 8th String Quartet by Shostakovich arranged for metal band. We’d like a french song or two to honor our native language and culture of Québec. Lots of interesting things to look forward to, we’ll see if we’re up to the challenge of playing all of this “Vite que le tabarnak” (As fast as fucking shit).

10.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays ?

Influences are broad... Strapping Young Lad's crazy arrogance has always left a really strong impression on me (Pash-Khaal), especially City and Alien. That's something I tried to capture while writing our first album.

Mirrorthrone's long and complex song structure, without losing aggressiveness and violence (especially in the Carriers of Dust album) has also left a big mark. I admire how Vladimir Cochet meticulously crafts his music giving it a really personal and unique feel, we find this in his other projects to; Weeping Birth's Anosognosic Industry of the I's complete carnage is also one that left a mark.

Outside of this I could refer to Martyr's and Decapitated's tricky rythms, Judas Priest's over the topness, Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk by Emperor. Crisix and Vektor's "new wave of thrash" are also a big reference for me.

Some classical influences to. Sonata in B my Franz Liszt, 11th and 14th symphony by Dmitri Shostakovich, Manfred Symphony by Tchaïkovsky and Te Deum by Penderecki are good examples.

These are all regular listens for me (Pash-Khaal).

11.What are some of your non musical interests ?

Videogames, politics, classical music, movies, cooking...

12.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts ?